Quality Investor

PriceSmart, Inc.

Rank #162Hypergrowth

PSMT · Nasdaq · Consumer Defensive

PriceSmart, Inc. (PSMT) — Rank #162 by gross profitability (GP/assets 0.36) · ROE 10.6% · Piotroski F-Score N/A.

As-of 2026-09-15 · CIK 0001041803 · all metrics point-in-time as of the filing date.

About

PriceSmart, Inc. owns and operates U.S.-style membership shopping warehouse clubs in the United States, Central America, the Caribbean, and Colombia.

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The company provides basic and private label merchandise and consumable and non-consumable products under the Member's Selection brand, including groceries, cleaning supplies, health and beauty aids, meat, produce, deli, seafood, and poultry. It also offers electronics, large and small appliances, automotive, hardware, sporting goods, seasonal products, clothing, domestic, and home furnishing products. In addition, the company offers food and bakery services, as well as health services, such as optical, audiology, and pharmacy. Further, it operates an e-commerce platform, as well as offers curbside pickup and delivery services. PriceSmart, Inc.

was incorporated in 1994 and is headquartered in San Diego, California.

Industry
Discount Stores
Sector
Consumer Defensive
State
DE
Filer Category
Large accelerated filer
Fiscal Year End
August 31

Price History

PSMT+118.1% · +16.9% CAGRSPY+80.5% · +12.5% CAGR

Company Snapshot

P/S is the primary valuation lens — earnings are reinvested, not available for P/E.

Market Cap

$5.16B

P/E (annual)

34.7

P/S (annual)

1.0

P/B

3.7

P/OCF (annual)

19.7

Shareholder Yield

1.9%

Employees

13,000

Industry

Discount Stores

Exchange

Nasdaq

Signal Flags

4 green1 yellow
Revenue growth acceleratingGrowth rate increasing year over year
Operating leverage expandingOperating income growing faster than revenue
Deferred revenue growingRevenue and deferred revenue both growing — retention signal
Sequential beat (rev + EPS)Both revenue and EPS exceeded prior quarter — 3-quarter streak
Disclosure regressionA previously-disclosed line item is no longer reported — worth checking the filing for why

Quality Profile

Profitability

GP / assets
0.36
Return on equity
10.6%
Gross margin trend
N/A

Safety

1/1 pass
Balance-sheet safety
PASS
Debt / equity
0.81
Current ratio
1.28×
Net cash
$139.05M

Cash Flow

2/3 pass
Positive FCF
PASS
Cash-backed earnings
WARN
Accruals healthy
PASS
SBC / revenue
0.4%

Growth

2/2 pass
Revenue growth
45.6%
Piotroski F-Score
N/A
Share dilution
-1.1%

Terry Smith quality gate

Passes 0/5 Terry Smith thresholds

1 of 5 threshold not computable from filed data.

What Growth Is Priced In

Implied revenue growth (10Y)

19.8%

fairly valued

The annual FCF growth rate today's price requires over a 10-year horizon (discount rate 10%, terminal growth 2.5%).

Buyback tailwind: -1.1% — per-share value needs a total required return of 18.7% once share-count change is priced in.

vs. own 6-year median revenue growth: 4.5%

priced above its own history

Cost-of-equity sensitivity (implied growth at different discount rates)

r = 8%

14.8%

r = 10% (base)

19.8%

r = 12%

24.2%

Net debt / market cap: -2.8%

Base FCF: $103.2M3Y mean FCF: $58M

Valuation History

Current multiple vs historical range at each filing date. Band spans 25th-75th percentile.

P / E

Price / diluted EPS

18.9xCheap
18.9xmed 29.3x33.4x

P / S

Price / revenue per share

0.5xCheap
0.5xmed 0.7x0.9x

P / B

Price / book value per share

2.0xCheap
2.0xmed 3.5x5.4x

P / GP

Price / gross profit per share

N/A
3.8xmed 4.8x5.7x

P / FCF

Price / free cash flow per share

1674.5xExpensive
13.1xmed 115.1x1674.5x

Revenue growth and the path to profitability (margin trend) are the primary reads at this stage.

Profitability

Gross profitability (GP / assets)

0.36

Primary signal (Novy-Marx).

4th of 6 SIC 53 peers

Return on equity

10.6%

Gross margin

17.4%

5th of 6 SIC 53 peers

Revenue growth (YoY)

45.6%

Gross margin improving

Margin trend vs prior year.

N/A

Operating Leverage

2019202020212022
Revenue vs COGS
Revenue vs OpEx
Op. Income vs Revenue

Growth

Revenue CAGR (3Y)

Revenue CAGR (5Y)

Earnings CAGR (3Y)

12.3%

FCF CAGR (3Y)

Anti-fragile safety

Balance-sheet safety

Composite anti-fragile check.

PASS

Debt / equity

0.81

4th of 6 SIC 53 peers (best = lowest)

Current ratio

1.28×

5th of 6 SIC 53 peers

Quick ratio

0.41×

Net cash

$139.05M

Cash & equivalents minus total debt.

Cash-flow health

Free cash flow

$103.17M

Operating cash flow minus capex.

Positive free cash flow

PASS

FCF / net income

-0.30

Cash-backing of earnings.

FCF/NI divergence

Unfavorable divergence (yellow flag).

WARN

Accruals healthy

Cash-backed earnings.

PASS

SBC / revenue

0.4%

Stock-based comp intensity.

Dividend safety

Composite score

2.8 / 5

Fair
Payout ratio
26.2%5/5 Strong
FCF coverage
2.66×4/5 Strong
Dividend growth streak
0 yr0/5 Weak
Balance-sheet health
D/E 0.81 · IC N/A2/5 Fair

Piotroski F-Score

F-Score

N/A

Only 8/9 components determinable.

Lifecycle Phase History

20172022
Capital Return
Value